Twine holding and dispensing device



TWINE HOLDING AND DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Feb. 13, 1940 Zer/z/ar-o (fa/A58 WA/QM awe wags Patented May 13, 1941 UNITED ST Claims.

This invention relates to a cord or twine holding and dispensing device, and it has for its object to provide a very simple and inexpensive article of this nature constructed to hold a ball has moved, and the fact that the spindle points downwardly permits the clerk to draw the cord off of the ball in a direction more or less lengthwise of the spindle. Consequently, there is little of cord in such fashion that all of the cord may 5 tendency for the ball to rotate, and this in turn be withdrawn from the ball without collapse of insures against overrunning of the cord in unsaid ball and without waste of any of the cord. winding of the ball.

It is also an object of the invention to so sup- Any tendency for the ball to spin is further port the ball of cord that very little, if any, rorestrained by the taper of the spindle, because tation will have to be imparted to the ball, and this taper causes the ball of cord to lightly, fricconsequently, there will be no such spinning of tionally engage the interior of the ball. Thus the ball as would tend to cause overrunning and the ball can rotate if the pull of the cord is consequent entanglement of the cord. strong enough but it will not rotate under the Further objects and advantages of the invennormally very light pull required to withdraw tion will be set forth in the detailed description the cord endwise from the ball. which follows. In some forms of cord holders, the cord is In the accompanying drawing: withdrawn from the interior of the ball. In

Figure l is a side elevation of a device consuch cases, the ball collapses before all the cord structed in accordance with the invention, and has been withdrawn. This results in great) Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View of the re- Waste of cord where the cord is used upon a taining nut at the end of the spindle. large scale.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts Upon the other hand, in some of the forms of throughout the several figures of the drawing. cord holders in which the cord is pulled sidewise Referring to the drawing, 5 designates a clamp from the ball, the ball is caused to spin so fast, of well known form, by which the structure may when a long pull is given in wrapping a large be clamped to the edge of a table, counter, scrtpackage, that the ball overruns and starts to ing case or the like. A vertical standard 6 is wind the cord up again. Here again, tangling pivoted at 1 in the upper part of the clamp in and snarling result, with great loss of both time such manner that it may turn about its axis. and cord.

The upper end of the standard terminates in a My device avoids all of these objections, and in downwardly inclined spindle 8 which preferably addition may be manufactured much more ecotapers slightly toward its outer end. This spinnomically than any cord dispensing article of die is preferably disposed at an angle of about which I have knowledge.

25 with respect to the horizontal. It is to be understood that the invention is not The spindle receives and supports the ball of as limited to the precise construction set forth, but cord indicated in dotted lines at 9. The terthat it includes within its purview whatever minal end of the spindle is reduced and threadchanges fairly come within either the terms or ed at 10 for the reception of a retaining nut H, the spirit of the appended claims. said nut having a beveled inner face l2. Having described my invention, what I claim One of the most important fields of use of the is: present invention is in the mail service, where 1. A holding and dispensing device for balls of many thousands of pounds of cord are used ancord comprising a supporting member, a vertical nually in tying up packages of sorted mail. The shank having its lower end pivotally mounted clerks who sort this mail and tie it work in front with respect to said member for turning moveof cases of considerable height, and these cases ment about its axis, an outwardly and downhave a ledge at their upper portions upon which wa'rdly directed spindle projecting from the the clamp 5 is adapted to be secured. upper end of said shank to lie wholly to one In sorting and tying the mail, the cler ks must side of said shank and of a length to extend move to rapidly changing positions in front of through the central opening of a ball of cord to the cases and in all of these positions mustbe support said ball wholly to one side of said able to pull the cord from the ball easily and without danger of snarling of the cord.

The fact that the standard can rotate freely causes the spindle to swing around to always point toward the position to which the clerk shank, a retaining member mounted upon the outer end of said spindle and of materially larger diameter than the spindle against which the ball of cord rides under the influence of gravity.

2. A structure as recited in claim 1 wherein the spindle tapers from the shank outwardly toward the retaining member.

3. A structure as recited in claim 1 wherein the spindle lies at an angle of approximately 25 with respect to the shank.

4. A holding and dispensing device for balls of cord comprising a clamp of substantial U shape adapted to engage over the edge of a supporting object, a vertical shank having its lower end pivotally mounted in the upper side of said clamp so that said shank may turn about its own axis, the upper end of the shank terminat ing in an integral downwardly and outwardly extending spindle portion lying at an angle of approximately 25 with respect to the shank, said spindle portion lying Wholly to one side of said shank and being of a length to pass through and support a ball of cord wholly to one side of said shank so that as the cord is pulled from the ball the spindle and ball tend to swing bodily toward the direction of pull and around the axis constituted by the shank, and' a removable retaining nut upon the outer end of the spindle which, when removed, permits the ball of cord to be thrust upon the spindle and which, when in place, provides a part against which the ball 7 of cord may ride as it tends to move toward the outer end of the spindle under the action of gravity.

5. A structure as recited in claim 4 wherein said spindle portion tapers outwardly.

BERNHARD SOLLIE. 

